Blood Trail
by Beansie
Summary: When Remus begins having odd dreams about a mysterious girl, his friends must help him solve the secret of her murder before it is too late. Please R&R! Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
****September 1, 1976

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"You're not gonna sit with the prefects, are you?" James Potter asked me, straightening his askew glasses. I rolled my eyes and opened the door to our compartment, leading the way in. We have occupied the same exact compartment every time we've boarded the Hogwarts Express. It's become a sort of tradition of ours, so to speak.

We took our normal seats, mine by the window, and waited for the train to take us off to Hogwarts.

"So the full moon's in a week. What are we gonna do?" Sirius Black asked. I shrugged and stared down at my feet, feeling slightly uncomfortable with our sudden conversation.

"I was thinking we could finish off the map, honestly," James commented.

"I was kind of thinking about paying a visit to Honeydukes," Peter Pettigrew shrugged.

Sirius snorted. "You and your stomach, Peter."

"Maybe next month, Wormtail, we need to finish the map, like Prongs said," I entered the argument.

"Oh, we _need_ to finish it now, do we?!" Sirius smirked.

"You're such a puss, Padfoot!" James shouted.

"Me, a puss?!?" Sirius growled, standing up.

Making quite the comical appearance of himself, James placed both hands on his hips and turned up his nose, letting his butterbeer bottle eyeglasses fall down his nose again. "Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?"

In a flash, Sirius whipped out his wand and sent a curse James's way, but he blocked it with a smirk.

And so all hell broke loose with those two as they tried to singe each other's eyebrows off or cover the other in boils. Peter transformed into his rat form and hid underneath the seats. I, not being an Animagi, did not have this option. I suppose I could have left before I was branded with a wart the size of the giant squid on my nose, however. Sirius and James stopped to point and laugh at my predicament.

"Do you see that?"

"Oh course I do, it's huge!"

"I could probably see it without my glasses!"

"Wait," Sirius squinted, "is that his nose or another head?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure, Mr. Padfoot."

"You know, you might want someone to take a look at that."

"That could be dangerous, really."

"If you aren't gonna take care of that, I will!"

"Do you think you can?"

"Of course I do! Isn't my name Sirius Black? I can do anything! I dub thee _Karl the Wart_!"

It was too much. The two fell to the floor in a fit of laughter, forgetting about their argument completely. That was the interesting thing about James and Sirius's friendship. They would deliberately argue over anything and everything, but were closer than most siblings are. I think it was a sort of guarantee of their friendship. They were close enough to know that even if they had the world's biggest fight, they would still be friends after it.

"Are you two quite finished? Because I would appreciated it if you fixed my nose," I pointed at the ugly wart.

"Sure thing, Remmy," Sirius stood up and mended my nose.

The rest of the train ride to Hogwarts was just as eventful, but no one else found himself victim of a curse. When the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, we followed the other veteran students to the carriages and were whisked off to the school.

We took four seats at the Gryffindor table and waited for the sorting to start. Or more correctly, the feast.

The tall oak doors to the Great Hall swung open and Professor McGonagall led fifty new students up to the front of the Great Hall, to the Sorting Hat. They all clumped together into one large group and walked slowly as they looked out at us older students nervously.

I remember being at that age quite well. Not being sure of what I would do with my life. Thinking no one would like me. Thinking that the Sorting Hat would turn me away because I didn't fit in anywhere. Terrified that the school would discover my secret….

But I am now in my sixth year at Hogwarts with three great friends who like me for me and nothing more: James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. And I really couldn't ask for any more than that.

We turned our attention to the front of the room. The new first-years' mouths fell to the floor as the Sorting Hat's patched mouth ripped open and began singing. Sirius and James exchanged a quick smirk, waiting to see how sappy this year's song would be. And I must say they weren't disappointed.

_One thousand years ago,_  
_On Gryffindor's head I sat.  
__And as it was before,  
__I'm not your ordinary hat.  
__For I've got brains in me, see?  
Gryffindor put them in me.  
He knew that he would leave,__  
__And someone would need to tell you where you should be.  
And so I am here today  
As it it was for many a year  
I'll sort you just where I think you should be  
I'll sort you here or there.__  
__In Gryffindor, of brave-hearted,  
__Or true Hufflepuff, the just.  
__Maybe Ravenclaw of well smarted,  
__Or sly Slytherin is where you must.  
__So try me on, I won't fail!  
__Though my brains may be filled with dust!_

Everyone in the Great Hall let out a roaring applause as McGonagall began calling the first-years up to the front for their sorting.

After that was done, the feast began. And between eating a better meal than I have in months and watching Sirius introduce himself to sparkle-eyed first-years with a mouthful of turkey, I had a very good time. Sirius is such a horrible influence, really, but I just shook my head, hiding my smile.

When the feast was over, Lily Evans and I assumed our roles as prefects and led the new first-years up to Gryffindor Tower. Their eyes would grow wide whenever we would point of some landmark of the school.

"So where were you on the train?" Lily asked me.

"Huh? Oh! Uh, I was in our compartment," I answered meekly, knowing full well what would be coming next.

"You were supposed to be with the rest of the prefects. We had a meeting," she said sternly.

"I know, I know," I shook my head.

"You can't let them make all of your decisions for you, Lupin. You have to grow a spine some day-"

"Lily," I began sharply, but caught myself remembering she only meant for the best. I sighed, "I know. It's fine, alright? Just...drop it."

She knit her eyebrows and glared up crossly at me, but chose not to say anymore.

It seemed all of the first-years gasped when the Fat Lady asked for the password. "Dragon Breath," I said.

After helping the first-years through the hole in the wall and telling them where they would find their dormitories, we left for our own. I knew it was going to be an early morning and I wanted to be as well rested as possible.

And apparently Peter had the same idea, for when I opened our dorm door, I was greeted by his loud snoring.

Smiling silently to myself, I sat on the edge of my bed and threw my shoes off, not caring where they landed. I didn't bother changing out of my robes as I pulled the bed sheets overtop of me and drifted off into hibernation.

_Panting. _

_Someone was running. _

_No, someone was being chased. _

_I had to help them! _

_Blood! _

_Blood! _

_BLOOD! _

_Blood everywhere! _

_She coughed up blood and grabbed my arm fast. _

_"Help me, Remus…" she pleaded. _

_She was too weak. _

_Her fall was cushioned by a bed of leaves. _

I shot up like a lightening bolt instantly. My sweaty bed sheets in tangles at my feet, I couldn't help but fall out of my bed. My head hit against the bedpost and my prefect badge came undone, pricking my chest beneath my robes.

"What happened?" Frank Longbottom, our other roommate, woke up.

"Geez, Moony, is someone humping you?" Sirius asked sleepily.

I moaned, rubbing my bruised head. "No, I just…."

"It's three in the morning, what's going on?" Peter complained.

"Remus just had a nightmare, alright? Can we go back to bed?" James groaned.

"Yeah," I pulled myself up from the floor and wiped away the sweat that was blinding me. "That's it."

Snoring soon filled the room again, telling me that my friends had fallen back asleep. I never joined them; I lay awake in my bed until sunrise. It had been just a dream, but it had seemed so real. Why did it bother me so much?

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**A/N- Humping? Is that really appropriate, Sirius?**

**So this is the first thing I've written in months. ****This is my second Marauder story, I hope it goes over well. It will be fourteen chapters and I will try to update once a week (though I_'_m not making any promises). So please review and tell me what you thought, I_'_d appreciate it. Thanx!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2  
September 2, 1976 **

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"Ugh, Remmy! Didn't you sleep at all?" James asked me. I yawned and shook my head.

"You shouldn't let it get to you. I thought we were done with these nightmares four years ago," Sirius complained loudly. I glared at him while I grabbed a clean set of robes to change into.

"It wasn't _that_, Sirius."

"Well, what was it?" Peter asked, truly concerned for me. I sighed and looked back at him. I didn't want to talk about it, so even as he was kind towards me, I lied to him.

"I honestly don't know," I shrugged. "It was weird," I added.

Peter nodded and put on his shoes, thinking to himself. "Hey, Prongs, lets go catch breakfast," he said, gesturing for him to follow. James looked back at Sirius and I reluctantly.

"Oh go on, I don't get lost anymore! Shoo!" Sirius exclaimed. James gave him a wink.

"Coming, Wormtail!" he grabbed his bag and ran out of the room.

I sighed again and made to grab the doorknob to the bathroom, but Sirius stood cross-armed in my way.

"I need to get ready-"

"What's going on? Do you really not remember you dream?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The unwelcomed memories of the dream came to me again. Shaking my head to get rid of the thought of them, I replied, "I think someone murdered a little girl, alright? I don't want to talk about it."

"Do you know who the girl was?" he asked, stepping to the side.

I shook my head. "No, I've never met her before." I opened the bathroom door.

"Maybe it was like a premonition of something," he shrugged.

"Like…I'm seeing into the future? I'm prophesizing?" I was very confused by this point.

Sirius shrugged. "How should I know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for all the help Padfoot, where would we be without you?"

He wore a big, goofy smile. "Well, as long as someone appreciates my genius!" He took a quick look in the mirror, making his hair just perfect, and waved goodbye as he left for breakfast, leaving me more confused than ever.

I took my shower, brushed my teeth, toweled my wet hair, and put on my clean robes. James was right, I did look awful. Between the effects of the upcoming full moon and my rather sleepless night, I was pale as a ghost and had bags beneath my eyes the size of Hagrid.

I sighed again and grabbed my books. I never found it a good idea to brood over my personal appearance; I had more important things to worry about.

That's why we left those things to Sirius anyway.

I was one of the last people to enter the Great Hall. I found James, Sirius, and Peter at the end of the Gryffindor Table.

"Yuck. You look worse now," James teased me with a smirk. I soon wiped it off his face, though, when I gave him a loud CRACK in the back of his head with my Arithmancy book.

He pouted as I took the empty space beside him and poured myself a tall glass of orange juice.

Sirius stood up and tapped his glass with his spoon, silencing most people around us. "I have an important announcement to make."

"This letter," he waved the letter he had just been delivered that morning, "states that I am now officially disowned from the black family clan and that I am never to return to that hell that some of you may refer to as Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place on pain of death." We applauded and whistled loudly.

"Thank you," and with a bow, he sat back down again.

"Let me see, Sirius!" Peter chimed in. Sirius handed him the letter and grabbed a keuchle. Over the summer holidays, Sirius had finally ran away from his house after years of saying he would. He moved in with James's family and the two told Peter and I about two weeks later.

"Check it out! Four free periods!" Sirius shouted, pointing to his schedule. I looked at mine and saw that I had three. James also had three and Peter four. "Ha! Time to nap!"

James rolled his eyes, and stabbed his pancakes with his fork.

"I actually think they're meant for studying, Sirius. Like a study hall. We're gonna be extra busy this year. N.E.W.T.S. are next year, you know," I pointed out reluctantly, for a nap felt very welcoming to me at that moment.

James snored.

"Poo on you, Moony!" Sirius mock-pouted. "Always killing my hopes and dreams."

"I really don't care," I commented without any feeling whatsoever, stuffing my mouth with pancake.

"Sirius," James addressed him as Peter handed the letter back. "Tryouts age gonna be this Friday. You comin'?"

"Oh yeah," he yawned. "You got a spare broom?" Uh…yeah…." James answered unsuredly. "Why?"

Sirius smirked. "I was thinking about trying out for the team." All our mouths dropped to the floor, but Sirius's smile never wavered.

"You mean…Are you serious?" James asked, flabbergasted.

"Uh…yes I am!" snorted Sirius as he laughed at his overly used pun. I rolled my eyes, Peter moaned, and James sighed, shaking his head in disgust.

"I'm not hungry anymore," I pushed my plate of food away in disgust.

"Well, let's get off to class anyway. Best to start the day off on the right shoe," Sirius shone. "But wait! We have a free period first thing this morning! Last one upstairs is a shovel-full of hippogriff droppings."

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**A/N- So this chapter** **doesn't even have** **to be in the story really. Other than to confuse people. The next chapter should be up** **in two Friday. I'm gonna try to update this once every week,** **but I'm having trouble getting to the computer.**

**This story didn't really get the reception I was hoping for. I hope it gets better. Bits of this story makes reference to my other story, Lost Legacy, so I must warn some** **people about that. If you like this story, please go and check that one out. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3  
October 8, 1976 **

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The bell for the end of lessons rang at the end of the day. It was a charming Friday's day, save for the fact that a certain ominous orb would soon be floating atop all our heads. Most students had been looking forward to their weekend away from schoolwork. The full moon had screwed mine over however, for after the transformation, I would spend much of that Saturday recovering in the Hospital Wing under the care of Madame Pomfrey.

Every full moon since our fifth year, however, us Marauders have planned and carried out all sorts of mischief and mayhem. In our second year, they inadvertently discovered my…condition…. I had been terrified out of my mind that they would want absolutely nothing to do with me afterward, but it turned to be quite the opposite. I was deeply grateful, to say the very least.

However, behind my back, they formed a plan to help me through every wake and wane of the moon. They risked everything for _my _sake, but managed it in our fifth year. They became Animagi. They could transform into animals at will and keep me company under the full moon. I am only a danger around humans, and so I don't harm them once they're in the Animagi form. James is Prongs and can transform into the most beautiful white stag. Peter is Wormtail and can transform into a small-sized lunchable rat (I'm only joking!). Sirius is Padfoot and can transform into an enormous, shaggy black dog. Prongs and Padfoot, being such large animals, can keep me at bay if something were to go wrong. Which is a very useful thing, really.

James sent me a wink and let me go on my way. I tucked my books underneath my arms and walked through the door without so much as saying a word to anyone. We were planning on paying a visit to Honeydukes in Hogsmeade that month. It was October, the second full moon of the year.

However, by the time I was securily hidden away in the Shrieking Shack and the moon loomed closer, I felt less and less like doing so.

"What do you mean? We planned this," Peter whined.

I shrugged and yawned. "I just don't feel like it. You three go on without me."

"You okay?" asked James, concerned. Truthfully, I wasn't. That cursed girl had been haunting my dreams every night for more than a month.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. "I just don't feel like it." After much arguing, they finally agreed to let me spend the full moon alone with the wolf.

I was so detached; I hardly felt the normally painful transformation. I simply didn't care. When it was over, I curled up near the fireplace and waited quietly. I felt depressed, as if some vital part of me had died and I was left with nothing but a hollow hole inside.

"Remus?" My ears perked up when I heard the small voice. It was strange that I even recognized it as my name. I suppose the wolf must have moved aside for that month because of my depression, even though I was alone and my friends were away. Well, at least I wouldn't be tearing myself apart that month.

When I heard nothing more, I supposed I had been imagining things.

"Remus…?" I lifted my head drowsily and blinked my eyes open to see a little girl kneeling on the floor right before me!

I freaked! I did more than freak! Someone had made it past the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack! That couldn't be! I wasn't in my human form and now would –

- oh! I recognized her as the little girl from my dreams. She smiled smally and reached out to hold my….

…I stared down at my _hand_ in confusion. It must have already been morning and I transformed back. But it was still dark outside, so I shouldn't have transformed back. Unless it wasn't even the full moon….

I held her hand and picked myself up off of the floor, brushing my robes of dust. She giggled quietly to herself.

She couldn't have been even in her second year. Twenty black curls made like sausages and baby fat on her cheeks –

- oh, I'm sounding like the wolf now! I'm sorry!

"Who are - " I began asking, but was interrupted by a loud BANG from the floor above us and then laughter. Her smile faded and her hand slid out of mine. She turned and ran out the trapdoor.

"WAIT!" I called after her, stumbling through the trapdoor myself. She was far ahead of me by then, I could only hear her muffled footsteps ahead of me.

I came to the mouth of the tunnel where someone had frozen the Whomping Willow's branches. I ran away from the tree before it would come alive again. "Where are you? Hello!"

A loud shriek followed by an eerie silence interrupted me. I ran in the direction of the scream: the Forbidden Forest. The trees became thicker and thicker and it became darker and darker. My shoe got caught in a tree branch and I fell to the forest floor. Spitting dirt from my mouth, I looked up and saw three shadowy figures in the distance, carrying an unwilling body away.

The girl!

I scrambled to my feet and ran towards them. They shushed their voices and dropped her on her feet. I stopped when I saw it. A knife, glimmering against the shine of the moon. And then –

- a bloodcurdling scream and a gut wrenching sound. It continued on and on and on! She begged and cried, but they wouldn't stop!

After a moment of watching in pure shock, I ran for them, not caring what would happen. Not caring if they would turn on me, hurt me, hit me, stab me, kill me! I had to help that girl!

The knives fell onto the rocks of the forest, making a clatter. They looked up from the workings; they must have heard me. I pulled out my wand and began yelling toward them like some estranged animal. They pulled the hoods of their cloaks over their heads and ran away from the scene.

I stopped at the place where she had been, but she was not there anymore. I looked around me in all directions, trying to find her. She was nowhere. No one was there. Nothing.

I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes. It had only been a dream. A horrible, horrible dream. I couldn't understand why it kept bothering me, though. It had to have some kind of meaning or it would just go away.

I was choked when my robes were pulled against my neck! Someone was pulling on them from behind! I spun round to face my adversary, but met face to face with the girl! Blood was spurting from her like a thousand fountains! Her bloodshot eyes searched into mine. She grabbed my arm for support, coughing up a mouthful of blood onto my robes.

"Help me, Remus…." her raspy voice pleaded.

"I…." a lump caught itself in my throat. "I don't - "

"Please!" she let go of my now bloody arm and staggered a little ways before falling to the ground. I raced to her side and knelt before her bleeding body. I held her hand and gave it a small squeeze while I moved a curl away from her face. She coughed up more blood and her breath came in pained wheezes.

Her hand felt limp in mine. Her eyes were still and her chest had stopped its usual rise and fall. I let her hand, still warm, fall to her side and closed her eyes. I couldn't bear to look into those golden, still orbs.

I decided to stay with her until morning when someone would hopefully find us. But when I woke up, no one was there but me. The ground around me was covered in leaves, not pools of blood. My mouth was dry and when I looked down, I noticed I didn't have a thread of clothing on. I sighed and groaned uncomfortably. It HAD been a full moon after all. I had transformed and I did break out of the Shrieking Shack. The whole thing had been a dream….

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**A/N- Ah, now the story's** **really getting started. Two weeks gone, I had to come back with something really cool...not that anyone cares, though.**

**I feel really crappy about this. This is my second favorite story I've ever written and one person has reviewed on here and two on deviantart. I don't know why I'm trying with this crap anymore...**

**But of course, I'll add my usual please review here now. I doubt I'll get it, though. But maybe I can wish. OMG, I think I'd have a Sheer Heart Attack...XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
October 9, 1976**

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I woke up in the Hospital Wing that same morning, feeling like I had a heavy weight was resting on my forehead. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes again. The brightness of the room was doing nothing to soothe my painful headache.

I heard Madame Pomfrey beside my bedside five minutes later. She made a "tut" with her tongue and almost walked away before I called out for her.

"Oh, so you're awake now. Do you have any idea the trouble you caused this morning?" her shrill voice cut through me like a knife.

I moaned. "Trouble?" I asked in a raspier than normal voice, truly confused.

"Yes!" I moaned again and she dropped her voice to a whisper. "You broke out of the Shrieking Shack, dearie." She patted my arm.

"I…what happened?! Was anyone hurt?! Did I - " in my excitement, I tried to sit up, but my aching head wouldn't agree with that. I moaned in pain.

"Shush. Eat this," she put a block of chocolate in my hands. I stared down at it dumbly, waiting for the news. "No, nothing more than that happened. No one was hurt." She paused before adding, "Thankfully."

I let out a great sigh of relief and broke a bit of the chocolate off with my bandaged hands. It melted right in my mouth; I didn't even need to chew it.

I slept through the next couple hours, completely oblivious to everything around me. Madame Pomfrey woke me up to dismiss me early, it seemed another student had accidentally lodged his wand up his nose. Peter had left me a new change of clothes while I was asleep, for which I was very grateful. I had left my robes in the Shrieking Shack after transforming and only wore the thin hospital robes.

I quickly changed into my clothes behind the bed curtain, and then sat down on a nearby bed to put on my shoes. I put one on and then stopped. Someone in a grand set of purple robes sat beside me.

"How are you feeling, Remus?" his tired, but kind voice asked. I looked up to see it was the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be here at school now. People of my kind are greatly mistrusted herein the wizarding world. And rightfully so in most cases. The typical becomes a stereotype for everyone, though.

I had wanted to go to school for as long as I can remember. To learn, to grow, to make friends. But that all changed in one night. My parents never thought for a moment I would attend school or receive a proper education. And when my father passed away, any remaining hope seemed to shrivel up and die away with him. But my mother wrote to Hogwarts as one last, trying effort. And it paid off. Professor Dumbledore became Headmaster of Hogwarts just the year before I began attending. And Dumbledore is sympathetic and decided to give me a second chance in life. He visited our house to talk to me on a few occasions. He was very interested in my condition ad more than willing to allow me to attend school under special conditions.

The summer before I began my magical education at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, Dumbledore had the Shrieking Shack and a tunnel leading to it built. The Whomping Willow was planted over the entrance way so no one could get in unless they knew how to. It was in the Shrieking Shack that I have transformed alone for four years before my friends began to join me on monthly adventures.

My gaze dropped to my shoes again. "Oh, fine I suppose…." He was there to talk about what had happened last night, how I had broken free.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen," I apologized quickly. He raised his long hand to silence me.

"I know you didn't, Remus. We'll simply have to make reparations, that's all."

I slipped on my other shoe. "Thank you, sir."

He stood up, as if to walk away, but turned around to face me again. "Is there anything else you would like to tell me?" he asked in a worried, concerned voice.

My stomach did a back flip as I looked toward him again. He has done so much for me. I hate lying to him. But I couldn't tell him about what had really happened to me that previous night. He didn't need to know that real reason I broke out, only that I escaped. I looked down at my feet again. "No, everything's fine," I lied. He nodded and left me feeling worse than ever. I lied to him although he has done so much for me.

And this wasn't the first time. My three best friends became Animagi illegally to help me during the full moon. I wasn't even supposed to tell anyone about my condition, let alone let others follow after me. I transform in the Shrieking Shack to keep others away from me while I am dangerous. And if allowing those three to tag along side me every month isn't dangerous, I don't know what is.

I left the Infirmary without another word and went to library to clear my thoughts. I sat at a deserted table between the sections about Transylvanian vampires and the troll wars. I opened a book about vampire rights and pretended to read that in front of me, though I didn't scan the book or turn any pages.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" a familiar voice asked. I slowly looked up and saw a recognizable face curtained with flaming red hair.

I nodded and moved my large book closer toward me so she would have a place to set her books and parchment.

She put them on the table and took a seat across from me.

"So what's on you mind?" she asked.

"Huh?"

She shrugged and waited with a warm smile.

"I'm reading, Lily," I answered, looking down to read my first sentence of the day. She put her hand on top of the part I had begun to read.

"I'm trying to read, Lily," I raised an eyebrow.

"No you're not. You haven't read a single thing since you've been here," she saw straight through my lie.

I sighed. "Fine." I shut the book and sighed again.

"So what's on you mind?" she asked again.

"Nothing," I mumbled, sinking my eyes to the table again.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I know you better than that, Remus."

"I…." I sighed.

"It's not healthy to bottle things up, Remus," she stated. I half-snorted: she knows nothing bout bottling up secrets.

"I know," I shook that rude thought out of my head since she only meant for the best. "I've been having these…dreams lately…."

She had a puzzled expression on her face as if this wasn't the answer she had been expecting. "Okay…." The confusion in her voice was an urging for me to go on.

"They've been about this girl," I continued.

"Oh. Do you know her?" asked Lily.

I shook my head. "No, I've never met her before. I've been having these dreams where she wants me to help her."

"With what?"

"I don't know. I had a dream last night. The girl visited me and led me out of the…castle to the Forbidden Forest where she…I…." I couldn't say it. Lily put her hand on my arm encouragingly and I continued. "I couldn't stop them. These three in robes…murdered her. Stabbed her to death. I couldn't do anything," I shook my head. "Do you suppose I was only sleepwalking or watching an actual murder?"

"How long have you been having these dreams?" she asked me.

I shrugged helplessly. "Since the first day back, almost every night."

"And how old was the girl? You don't recognize her at all?"

"No, I've never met her before. And I don't know, maybe a first or second year."

Lily stood up immediately and seemed to leave me alone, but returned with the school's thick copy of _Hogwarts, A History_. She put it on the table between us and sat down again to flip through its many pages.

"Aha!" she exclaimed excitedly. Madame Pince, the school librarian, hushed her. "Sorry. Here, read this bit." She pointed to an article in the book and stood up from her seat. I moved to her side and read it quietly. When I was done, I looked up at her puzzled.

"I think you were sleepwalking and saw a real murder that _happened_ in you dream," she was grinning.

"What?"

"Didn't you see?! Three murders ever at Hogwarts! Three in one thousand years! That girl you've been dreaming about was one of the three! Read her description. It says first-year, stabbed to death in the Forbidden Forest. She's the one, Cecil Marie Reid!"

"You mean she was already murdered? There wasn't anything I could do anyway?"

Lily nodded. "I don't even see a timeturner taking you back five hundred years."

I reread that section. A young first-year girl had been brutally murdered in the Forbidden Forest five hundred years ago. And all that time I had been thinking it was _going to happen_.

"Do you think it's her ghost that's visiting me?" I asked suddenly.

Lily nodded again. "Exactly."

"Well if she's already dead, what does she want? We can't exactly avenge her death, her killers would be dead by now," I went on to state the obvious.

Lily shrugged. "Maybe she just wants a friend. She couldn't have been too popular around if she was murdered."

"Well constantly pestering someone isn't going to make you friends."

"Why do you think she was murdered?" Lily looked up at me. I shook my head.

"Not a clue in hell."

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**A/N- So one review still…yeah…um, I'll post another chapter in a week.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
October 9, 1976 **

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"You went to Evans before us?!?" Sirius shouted, utterly flabbergasted. I rolled my eyes and stared into the fire of the Common Room helplessly.

"I told you. I wanted to go to the library and she met me there," I remarked.

"What happened there?" Peter asked earnestly, drawing his legs up to rest beneath his chin. I looked over to him and sighed.

"I…told her what happened last night," I held my breath for –

"You told Evans before us?!?" Sirius shouted again.

James took a pillow and chucked it at his head, connecting successfully with target. "Shut up, Sirius," he rolled his eyes. "What happened last night?"

"The girl visited me again."

"You mean the one you humped?"

"Sirius!"

"What?!"

"I must've fallen asleep or something, because when I met her, I wasn't transformed."

"But you did transform, right?" James asked.

"Yeah."

"What did she say?" Peter asked.

"Nothing, really. She was scared off and then…." I gulped at the memory.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"She was murdered," I finished. The room grew quiet.

"That's it?!" Sirius raised his eyebrow.

"Yes!" James, Peter, and I hollered.

"Do you remember exactly where she was murdered?" James asked, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes."

James stood up. "Boys, how do you feel about some good old-fashioned marauding? Maybe we'll find something."

"What's there to find?" Peter asked, completely unmoved.

"Party pooper," mumbled Sirius.

"We'll look for clues to the mystery!" James exclaimed.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Like Sherlock Holmes?"

The three turned and blinked at me. "What?!"

I shook my head. "Never mind."

"I'll go and get my Invisibility Cloak," stated James, "and then Remus will tell us where to go."

"Sure," I shrugged as James ran up to our dorm, skipping two stairs at a time. I heard Sirius try to sneak up behind me, but chose not to react.

"REMUS!" he shouted, making Peter instead jump. "Who murdered her?"

"I don't know, Sirius."

"Why'd they murder her?"

"I don't know, Sirius."

"How'd they murder her?"

"Go away, Sirius."

Sirius hung his arms over the back of the chair and huffed loudly. "I'm bored."

"Good," I replied, staring into the dying flames of the fire again. Sirius remained quiet for the next ten or so seconds before letting go of the chair and coming around it as Padfoot.

James came down in the Common Room at that moment and told Sirius to "play dead," upon which he transformed back into Sirius and pouted.

James unfolded his Invisibility Cloak and the four of us got under it. Since our fifth year, however, we have all gotten too big to be under it all at once without someone spotting our feet. Luckily, though, Peter can transform into an especially small animal and give us all more room.

We left through the Fat Lady's portal and, taking all sorts of shortcuts, made our way quietly to the Entrance Hall, to the grounds, to the Forbidden Forest. We walked a little way into the Forbidden Forest before taking off the cloak.

"Lumos," I said as Peter transformed back and James folded up his cloak. The end of my wand lit up and we could all see our surroundings better.

"So which way do we go?" asked Sirius as he crossed his arms over his chest impatiently.

I looked around and pointed to the area off the path. "A little ways in there," I ran ahead and the other three followed, Peter panting and wheezing.

"Down there," I pointed to the bottom of our small hill, to the bed of leaves.

"That's it? What is there?" Sirius complained.

"What did you expect?" I asked, exasperated. Peter had caught up to us then, desperately trying to catch his breath.

"Well lets go have a look," James brushed his hands together.

"Wait!" Peter wheezed, taking out his inhaler and leaning against a nearby tree for rest.

But when he leaned against it, the bark broke and he fell back into the hollow inside! He dropped his inhaler down the hole as he scrambled to keep his grip and not fall completely inside as well!

"Guys, help me!" James and Sirius ran past me in a flash as they raced to pull him out of the old tree.

Once they had him on two feet, Sirius looked back over the tree. "Did you see that?!"

"Yes!" Peter shouted quite indignantly while James tried his best to calm him down again.

"Where do you suppose it goes?" Sirius looked down into the hole.

"Get away from there, Padfoot, or you'll fall in, too!" I chastised.

"Hey!" he looked up again. "Maybe it leads to China!" I rolled my eyes helplessly.

"Accio inhaler," James conjured Peter's inhaler out of the hole. It came up and out and James caught it deftly in his hand, practice from playing with a Snitch, and gave it to Peter.

"See! It's not bottomless!" defended Sirius. James stood and walked to his side, leaving Peter alone.

"Why not, Remus?" Sirius asked.

"What if you get stuck down there? How are you supposed to get out?"

"We'll just apparate!" proposed Sirius.

"Good plan, only none of us can apparate,"

"Geronimo!" James hopped inside the hole!

"James!" I raced over to the tree.

Sirius laughed himself to stitches. "Way to go, Prongs!"

"Are you alright, James?!" I shouted.

"Yeah! It's really dark!" he shouted back up. "And wet!" he added.

"I'm coming, Jamie!" and Sirius jumped into the hole as well.

"Are we gonna have to go in there, too?" Peter asked.

I sighed. "Come on." I helped him stand. He reluctantly approached the tree once more and climbed into the hole. I soon followed.

We were in a square room the size of one of our classrooms. It had three boarded up walls and the fourth made out of dirt. James looked up from where we had come. We had dropped about ten feet down and there was luckily a ladder built against one of the boarded walls.

"Uh, guys…." Peter shakily pointed at the wall we all had our backs against.

"Huh?" Sirius asked. We all turned around and looked at it. There on the wall was red writing, as if written in blood. I swallowed the lump in my throat before reading what it had to say.

_Speak not your secrets  
While you are here,  
Lest you spend your living  
Hours in fear. _

_Remember this:  
It's for the best.  
These walls have ears  
That do not rest. _

_Remember these:  
These warnings true,  
For if you don't,  
I pity you…. _

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**A/N- Will update notes later.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6****  
****October 10, 1976 **

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To say the very least, Peter ran out of there faster than any of us knew he could run. And we weren't too far behind him either.

We made it to the edge of the Forbidden Forest when James had enough sense left to stop us to get under the Invisibility Cloak. We dashed to Gryffindor Tower as quickly and as quietly as we possibly could.

When we were in the safety of our dormitory, James pulled back his cloak and Peter transformed back, rooted to his place like a potted plant.

"What the hell was that?!" Sirius shouted before James could close the door. He closed it immediately afterward, though, and cast an Imperturbable Charm on it.

"What do you know?!" Sirius continued.

"Not much more than I've told you already," I defended myself against Sirius.

"What aren't you telling us?!"

I held my tongue and went to the foot of my bed, to my trunk. I opened it and shifted things around until I found my own copy of _Hogwarts, A History_. I turned through the yellowing pages until I found the right page. I set the book open on my bed and we all gathered around to read it.

"'_There were only three murders ever at Hogwarts. The first, in 1066_-'" James read aloud.

"Next one," I interrupted. They looked at me and then back to the book.

"'_The second murder occurred in 1476, when a first-year student, Cecil Marie Reid, was found stabbed to death in the Forbidden Forest on October the 31st. Her murderers are still unknown and their motive for attacking her is also unknown_,'" James finished reading. "That's it?"

"Don't _you _start that now," Sirius moaned.

"Why didn't they just use the Avada Kedavra curse to kill her? Why go through all that trouble stabbing her?" Peter spoke up, surprising me. I hadn't even noticed that. Why had they resorted to muggle ways of killing when they were wizards…probably anyway….

"I…." I shrugged and suggested the sadistic. "I don't know. Maybe they wanted her death to be more…painful…."

"Or they were muggles and couldn't use magic," James stole the words out of my mouth.

"Then how did they find Hogwarts?" challenged Sirius. James shrugged.

"I don't know. Those first-years get lost all the time."

"She got lost all the way outside into the Forbidden Forest?"

"I kind of doubt her murderers were muggles, Prongs," I interrupted again. "Muggles can't find Hogwarts unless they know where it is and I doubt anyone would go through so much trouble."

"I think they had it planned ahead of time," Sirius began. "As grim as it seems, I think Lupin was onto something. They wanted her to die a painful death, not just be over and done with it with Avada Kedavra."

"She probably wasn't well-liked, then," commented James.

"Obviously not," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I wonder why, though…." Peter said.

"Maybe she was a jerk," James shrugged.

"Maybe she wasn't pureblooded," Peter piped up, receiving a look of astonishment from James and Sirius. He shrunk back, "Maybe, I don't know…. It would have been a novelty then!"

James looked out the window at the nearly full moon. "Maybe…."

"That could be it!" Sirius shouted excitedly. It was a good thing we had an Imperturbable Charm cast on the room or else he would have woken somebody up for sure. "That could seriously be it!" Peter looked up hopefully.

"Congratulations, Peter, you're finally growing a brain!" James cheered, sling an arm around the shorter boy's shoulder.

"I'm not stupid, you know," sulked Peter, easing away from him.

"Why'd she come to us?" I spoke up for the first time in a few minutes.

"Huh?" They turned to look at me in surprise, as if they'd forgotten I was still in the room.

"She had five hundred years to talk to anyone she would ever want to. Why us?" I repeated my question.

James lowered his eyes to the floor unsurely. Peter shrugged.

I sat down on my bed. "What does she want from us anyway? From me?! Why am I the one she's visiting and not James or Sirius or Peter or Dumbledore? I doubt she wants us to avenge her death; her killers have been dead for centuries. But back in that cavern, with those writings…what is she trying to get us into?"

"You mean you're giving up on this?" Sirius questioned.

I sighed. That wasn't the way I'd have put it. "I realized back in that cavern, when Wormtail fell through the tree and we saw that writing…. If it's going to hurt my friends, then yes, I am quitting. I won't have you lot hurt because of some ghost girl visiting me with her problems. You're all more important to me than that."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence where a minute ago there had been jovial celebrating. After five minutes of staring at each other, Sirius coughed and excused himself off to bed, uncharming the room. James and Peter followed quickly, and I last. I was grateful that Frank hadn't been in our dorm during our discussions. He came in quietly, though, trying to make as little noise as possible so he wouldn't disturb us. He clicked the door shut and jumped upon turning around, for he hadn't expected to see me awake.

"Oh! Remus, I didn't think you'd still be awake," said Frank. "The rest of your lot up, too?"

"Yeah, but we're all gonna hit the sack soon," I answered.

"Well, 'night," he waved, going into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"Goodnight," I called to him before I changed into my pajamas and crawled under the sheets. It wasn't until after I heard James, Sirius, Peter, and Frank crawl into bed themselves that I began dozing off.

And for once, it was no nightmare. It was just a regular, normal dream –

Until I heard something near me….

I felt suddenly colder and colder as something was coming closer. My eyes snapped open and I saw the ghost girl by my bedside.

She pressed an invisible finger to her lips. "You have to help, Remus. I need you."

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes to make sure I wasn't still dreaming. "Why do you need _me_? Why not anybody else?"

She looked shyly down at her feet. "I dunno. I guess you're nice," she shrugged.

I shut my eyes, bit down on my tongue, and took in one long, deep breath. "What was the writing on the wall about?"

"They don't like people nosing around," Cecil explained.

"I don't want my friends hurt, Cecil. Don't you see that?! I don't even know what you do need!" She was silent. "I couldn't help you even if I wanted to! What is going on?!"

"It would kill your friends if anything happened to you, wouldn't it?" she asked.

"What?!?"

"Please, Remus…if not for my sake than yours! You're in danger - "

"What are you talking about?!" Just then, that loud, laughing noise that had filled the Shrieking Shack haunted our room. The candles flickered on and off again as Cecil retreated through the floorboards.

And as soon as it had started, it was over. I lay in my bed breathing heavy in and out. There were loud complaints heard around the room, enough which brought the Head Boy in. He promptly took away five house points each and sent us al to bed once more.

And I knew it would be another long, sleepless night.

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**A/N- Cliffy...not like it matters. Hope this was an enjoyable read.** **I'm planning on posting the next chapter in a week, but if that doesn't happen, it will be two weeks. I'll shoot for one week, though.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7  
October 16, 1976**

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The following day was a Monday and James, Sirius, and Peter couldn't do much more until the next weekend. And even though they each had at least three free periods, heaven forbid them from ever stepping foot into the library. 

I didn't include myself in any of their discussions about the girl. I was beginning to feel guilty about my outburst to not help her, but my stubbornness kept me from admitting that for quite a while.

Five days of classes passed before the weekend. I was catching up on a Transfiguration essay that had been assigned over the last full moon. Books and parchment were spread out on two library tables as I struggled, wishing James was around.

"Remus? Remus!"

I moaned as Lily ran through the library toward me, interrupting my train of thought. Madame Pince scolded her, telling her to be quiet. She stopped at the table I was sitting at excitedly.

"Come on, Remus!" she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the library before I had any time to protest.

"Lily! Where are we going?!" I asked.

"Somewhere deserted," she answered, pulling me inside and old, empty classroom and locking the door.

"What do you need to tell me?"

Her excited smile died away and she seemed to grow uncomfortable. "I think I found out why Cecil Marie was killed, but you may want to sit down for it…."

"Why?" I raised an eyebrow skeptically, but took a seat in a desk. She leaned against the desk beside me, staring at her feet.

She sighed and looked at me sadly. "Cecil was a…she was a werewolf, Remus…."

My blood turned ice cold in my veins and the insides of my mouth dry. I felt suddenly flush and nervous.

How did she find out! I couldn't find anything anywhere! Was it a frightening coincidence or –

- or had she made the connection? Did she know my secret? Could I trust her if she did know? What would happen if I couldn't? Would I be run out of the school? Or locked up? Or murdered like some animal?!

I wonder how long a person can remain conscious without breathing, because I was feeling quite faint.

When I didn't say anything, Lily spoke again. "Are you okay?"

I blinked into the distance for a few seconds and focused on a bookcase rather than face her. "Yeah. I just wasn't expecting that…."

"Remus…." she trailed off sadly.

"What?" I asked, feeling like a small child being scolded.

"Remus, please talk to me," she was pleading. I remained silent. "Remus, why don't you trust me?"

"How long have you known then?" I managed to choke out the words that were so gut-wrenching to say.

"Since third year," she stated very matter-of-factly. I couldn't bring myself to say anymore.

"Remus, I don't care! I don't! We're friends and you can trust me and I can trust you!" Lily assured. I said nothing. "Don't you know that?!?" She grabbed my hands in hers and I noticed she wasn't wearing her silver ring anywhere on her hands. It was safe on a chain necklace around her neck where it wouldn't touch me.

I then realized how stupid I had been. It was Lily after all; I was friends with her before James, Sirius, and Peter. She would never want to hurt me and I saw the blatantly with her silver ring. I felt ashamed I hadn't realized that before….

"Remus…." She lightly shook my hands, causing her bracelets to rattle together.

And I nodded. And then I looked up from the floor and nodded again, but this time sincerely to her face. She let go of my hands and then, to my great surprise, wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. I tried my best to overcome my shocked state and hug her back, but she let me go again.

"You can talk to me whenever you need to. I'll be there, alright? You've got to quit bottling things up-"

"- it's unhealthy, I know," I softly chuckled at my luck. Never in a million years would I have imagined anyone accepting me for me, but I now had four friends who knew my secret. And were fine with it. But I wasn't as I recalled Cecil's visit almost a week before.

"Cecil visited me last Sunday. She said I'm in danger," I stated.

"What?"

"I said that I didn't want to help her anymore and she visited me and said if I didn't want to help her, I should do it to help myself. That _I'm_ in danger," I explained.

"In danger of what?"

I shrugged. "You said she was killed because she was…. And Peter actually said earlier that he thought she was killed because she wasn't pureblooded. With the both of you thinking like that and you with that information, I'm going to say you're right. But I still don't know what I'd be in danger of. Her killers have been dead and gone for centuries!"

"So if we_ don't_ help _her_, _you'll_ be in danger," Lily repeated slowly, making sure she understood completely. And then she blinked in surprise. "Peter?! They all know about this, too?!"

"Yes, Lily."

"Oh….so now what?"

I shrugged. "I almost have to help her now. I understand the prejudice she faced."

"So you're back in?"

I slowly nodded.

"I think we should all talk to her," stated Lily. "What?"

"Not just you, I mean. We should all try to talk with her," she repeated.

I blinked. "And how are we suppose to do that?"

"Leave that to me. Give me a week. Saturday! Saturday we'll do it! You and your lot can find a place to meet with her, you'll be good at that."

I shook my head. "I already have a place."

**

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A/N- Okay, here's a twist. And I want to state loud and clear here that yes, Remus is the only werewolf that attended Hogwarts. This is a fanfiction, and therefore I can make it as canon as the books (all hail the great J.K. Rowling) or I can pull for anywhere I like! So if I get some review that wants to argue with me, I'll just direct you to this rant!**

**So peoples are now reading my story. I'm very happy. Whoever hits review numero diez gets the next chappie dedication!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**  
**October 23, 1976 **

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"There you are, Evans! What took you so long?!" Sirius shouted as she came down the stairs to the girls' dormitory. James quickly messed up his hair and sent her a smirking grin. 

I rolled my eyes, knowing that it would be a long night.

"Where are we going, Remus?" she asked me, completely ignoring the other two.

"Yeah, where are we going, Remus?" repeated a cross armed Sirius, leaning too close towards me for comfort. I pushed him away, for he knew very well where we were going.

"The Room of Requirements," I answered.

"The Room of Requirements? What's that?" Lily asked, looking very skeptical.

"It's this room that shows up whenever you require it," James was quick to answer.

Lily glared at him. "Thank you, Potter."

"It's this room on the seventh floor that almost doesn't exist. It's only a wall, no door. If you walk past the wall three times, thinking about only what you would need for a room, a door will appear and you can go inside to your perfect room or whatever," I explained.

Lily blinked in astonishment. "Are you serious?"

"No, I am!" Sirius proudly proclaimed to the room, earning himself the next glare from Lily.

I found myself grinning at Lily's misfortune. "No, _I'm _not Sirius, but yes, that's what the room does."

"Well let's go. It will be illegal for anyone to be outside of the Common Rooms soon and I don't particularly care to be caught," Lily headed off for the Fat Lady's portrait.

"You'll be breaking school rules with us then, Evans?" questioned Sirius.

She spun around and stood on her tiptoes to be at a more equal level as him. Hands on her hips, she said, "To help Remus, yes." And she was the first one to leave the Common Room. The four of us closely followed her and we snuck to the hall where the Room of Requirements was hidden. We had to walk back and forth of the place quietly and quickly. We chose not to bring the Invisibility Cloak as that might have gotten James into huge trouble. I trust Lily, but not with something that would land James or Sirius into heap loads of trouble.

Because she'd probably be more than willing to turn them in.

Anyway, the third time past that wall and the door appeared for us to go inside. Peter turned the doorknob and the door swung wide open. The room was modestly size. About the size of our dormitories. Royal blue banners dressed the walls and a table sat in the middle of the room atop a round, Persian rug. Cinnamon scented candles and a fireplace lit up the room and five beautifully carved chairs were pulled into the table.

"Whoa…." Lily's jaw hit the floor; she was truly amazed.

"Come on." James pushed through us. We all followed him and entered the room as well. I closed the door behind us.

"So now what?" Peter asked.

"We need to establish conversation with her," Lily answered.

"Just shout out for her then," replied James.

"This is a very delicate matter, Potter, and we won't be treating it otherwise," she snapped back.

"Everybody calm down, please," I interrupted. "James, Lily is right. I think it best we don't argue and only one, _maybe two_, of us actually talk with her. We don't need to scare her off, Padfoot," I added. Sirius pouted.

"Let's all sit down, please. I'm going to try talking to her," and without another word of protest, everyone took a seat and quietly waited. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to block out all outside distractions and to get my mind as blank as was possible. I need to try to connect with her, but after five minutes of trying, absolutely nothing had happened. I shook my head and opened my eyes.

"What happened?" asked Peter.

"Nothing, I can't find her," I shook my head.

"Maybe we could try a séance," proposed Lily.

"What's that?" Sirius asked.

"It's basically the muggle way of trying to communicate with ghosts," she explained.

"What do we need to hold a séance when we can just call out for her?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"Because that would be disrespectful and she might be sensitive."

"Disrespectful?! I ask Nearly Headless Nick for History of Magic help almost every day!"

"It's different!"

I stood up and looked up at the ceiling. "Hold my hands," I instructed. They looked at me curiously but all stood up and joined hands. "Cecil Marie Reid, are you with us? We wish to speak with you. We mean no harm whatsoever. This is Remus Lupin."

Silence. There was absolutely nothing.

And then-

"Who are they?"

I sighed if relief, she had come. "They are my friends. They mean no harm whatsoever. They want to help you."

"Can I trust them?" she shyly peeked her head out from behind a cabinet.

"Yes. They know everything I know. You can trust them."

She slowly came out from behind the cabinet and drifted to our table, but kept a safe distance away.

"This is Lily and then James, Sirius, and Peter," I introduced her to them. She silently nodded her head.

"How old were you?" Lily asked kindly.

"It was my first year," she answered.

"And what happened?" Lily continued.

"I don't think I should tell you!" Cecil drifted further from the table.

"Please? We only want to help you," she reassured.

"I…."

"Tell them what you showed me that night," I softly spoke up.

She didn't say another word for a while. I think Sirius grew slightly impatient of this, but he thankfully said nothing to scare her off.

"There were a group of Slytherins and they found out about my secret. They pulled me out of the castle on the night of the Halloween Feast and-"

CRASH!

The cabinet fell to the flood. Peter screamed in shock.

"Get out of here now!" Cecil warned us before disappearing through the wall herself.

"What's going on?" asked Sirius, confused. A loud echo of laughter filled the room then, but it was far from bright. A harsh wind blew through the room the, and between that and our own screams, we could hardly hear the laughing. The candles blew out and there was nothing but darkness and laughter and screams and whirling winds.

And as soon as it started, it stopped again. The candles all magically relit themselves again and everyone was ashen and pale as a ghost.

"Is everyone alright?" I looked around the table. Lily, James, Sirius, Peter….

God.

Peter was gone.

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**A/N- That time of the week already? I haven't been writing this for four weeks now, only typing it in. And I could keep that up for another month, but then I'd have no my to type. I need to write three more chapters and then it's done. That'll be a relief. **

**And cos I know everyone cares for Peter's welfare, everyone will be back next week anxiously awaited what happened to him, right ::listens to the crickets:: Yeah…. **

**We're gonna take a trip to Toronto this year to see a musical. My mom wants to see The Phantom of the Opera, my brother wants to see We Will Rock You, and I'm honestly torn between the two. Ugh.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Lori of course for being reviewer number ten. Thanks to everyone for playing! There will be more chances, I assure you!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9  
October 23, 1976**

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"Where's Peter?!?" I asked. 

"I don't know," Lily shrugged, looking over at James and Sirius.

"We don't know, why're you looking at us like that?!" remarked Sirius.

"Hey!" James cried out, but then calmed down and ran a hand coolly through his messy hair. "Did you just kick me under the table, Lily?"

"No! Be serious! Where's Peter?!" Lily glared.

"Well then if you didn't…."

"Don't look at me, Prongs!" Sirius growled. James got a curious look on his face and looked under the table.

"Peter! Get out from under there! We've been looking for you!" shouted James. A whimpering Peter Pettigrew crawled out from under the table. I helplessly rolled my eyes.

"Well now that all of that is in order, would you all care to tell me what's going on?!" snapped Lily.

"Tiger Lily, take it easy! Do you mind talking t us, Remus?!" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, what was that?" asked James. Peter, too, looked at me anxiously, awaiting my answer.

Truth be it, I didn't know much more that than they knew. I hadn't understood what had just happened or why. "I don't know either," I honestly answered.

Sirius cussed and sank into his chair, not happy with my answer.

"Do you suppose they were more ghosts? We couldn't see them, so…." Lily trailed off.

"More ghosts?" Peter moaned.

"Be quiet, Wormtail!" hissed James.

"More ghosts…." I trailed off. If there were more ghosts –

I remembered instantly where I had heard those cackles before. They had filled the Shrieking Shack on that last full moon, and had also scared Cecil off in the dormitory, too.

"Lily, I told you Cecil had led me out of the castle," I said. She nodded. "Well that wasn't the complete truth, I wasn't thinking straight. She was scared off by those same laughs and I followed her."

"You mean they were the same?"

"Yes! They've frightened her off, twice now, always when she's going to tell us something. Do you think they're trying to hide something?"

"What would they have to hide?" Peter asked.

"Oh stop being such a dolt, Peter!" James exclaimed.

"Peter, what Remus is trying to say is that-" Lily began, but I interrupted her out of excitement.

"Is that the ghosts are the spirits of the Slytherins who murdered her!"

"Oh!"

"She said that you were in danger next, they must have been werewolf hunters or something…but how could they hurt you, they're ghosts now?" Lily questioned.

"I don't know, can ghosts _control _a person?"

Lily shook her head. "Not unless said person willingly allows them to."

"Damn it!" growled Sirius, returning from his silence. "How'd they know we'd be here?! Do they know everything?!"

"If you'd calm down and think about it, Sirius, it wouldn't be that hard!" snapped Lily.

"They're following Cecil to make sure she doesn't say anything they wouldn't want said, I explained.

"They're all dead, what difference would it make?" Sirius continued on, stubborn as ever.

"Or maybe," James looked to me with an idea, "it was because of that poem. 'These walls have ears that do not rest?'"

"So now we're assuming it was they're hideout?" asked Sirius.

"It makes sense. It would've given them a quick getaway afterwards, like Remus said," defended James.

"No," I shook my head. "It said 'speak not your secrets _here_!' It doesn't matter where we speak them, as long as not _there_."

"Wait," Lily interrupted. "What poem are you lot talking about?"

"We found it on a wall of the Slytherins' hideout…. 'Speak not your secrets here, lest you spend your living days in fear-'

"I want to see," she interrupted me.

"Lily, it's dangerous!" remarked James. She blinked in surprise.

"Plus it's probably not the smartest idea for any of us to go. They're probably antagonized enough," I added.

"I can't very well be of any help if I don't understand what's happening," she continued.

"You've been enough help, Lily. Thank you," Sirius retorted, earning a death glare from Lily. If looks could kill….

We agreed to take her there finally, for our own sakes. It's common knowledge that you never want to make Miss Lily Evans angry.

And James has the scars already to prove it.

We kept safely in the shadows, both inside the castle and on the grounds, until we were in the Forbidden Forest. And to our great surprise, Lily never faltered once and followed us _despite_ the school's strict rules.

We came into the clearing and showed her the tree with the hole in it. She looked down into the black abyss of the hole.

"Well, who's going first?" Sirius said brightfully, finally cheered up. "After you, my lady." Lily glared and jumped in first. Peter squeaked.

"Come on, you next, Petey," teased Sirius.

"I really don't like this," mumbled Peter.

"Look out below, Lily! Heavy load!" James shouted. Peter fell down through the hole as well. James, Sirius, and I followed soon afterward.

"Is everyone okay?" James asked.

"Lumos," I said. The end tip of my wand shone up brightly, illuminating the little room.

"I think it's here," Lily pointed toward the wall with writing. I shone my wand at said wall.

_Speak not your secrets  
While you are here,  
Lest you spend your living  
Hours in fear. _

_Remember this:  
It's for the best.  
These walls have ears  
That do not rest. _

_Remember these:  
These warnings true,  
For if you don't,  
I pity you…. _

"Fascinating," she walked forward and touched the wall, tracing the red writing with her finger.

"Hey! Look at this wall!" Sirius exclaimed. I turned around and saw it. The dirt wall was glowing lime green.

"That's…weird…." Said James.

"Why wasn't it lit before?" Peter asked.

"I don't know," Sirius reached out for the wall and touched it. His hands sunk into it, though, and when he tried to hull them out, they only sunk in deeper.

"Sirius! Pull yourself out of there now!" Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well if I could I would but I can't!" Sirius shouted.

"You're stuck?" James asked.

"Yes!"

"Okay, just take it easy. Remus, grab his other arm," James grabbed his right and I his left. We pulled and tugged, but he wouldn't come out.

"Wait! Lets do it at the same time. One, two,-" I began.

"No wait!" Sirius shouted. "I think I feel something."

"What?!" James exclaimed.

"OW! Get me out! Get me out!"

"Now you make up your mind! Ready?! One, two, three!" James counted down and we pulled.

"Again!" We tugged on his arms again.

"OW!"

"Peter! Lily! Help!" I called them over as well. They each grabbed one of Sirius's arms as quickly as they could.

"One, two, three!" James counted. We all pulled.

"He's coming out! Again!" Lily shouted.

"Now!" He came out a bit further.

"Again!"

We all fell to the ground from the force.

"Are you okay, Sirius?" James asked.

"Wait! What's on your arms?!" Peter questioned. I looked at them and saw they were covered with blood and small, yellow bugs.

"Oh my god…." I mumbled in shock. Sirius moaned.

"Honestly, Sirius, how stupid can you be?" Lily chastised, conjuring a pair of dragon hide gloves from thin air.

"What are they?" James asked.

"Skin-eating maggots," she answered, picking the bugs off his arms and tossing them to the ground where they disintegrated.

"Haven't they been extinct for three-hundred years?" I asked.

"Apparently not…." Moaned Sirius.

"What did you feel in the wall?" I asked, walking towards it.

"I don't know…a paper or something…."

"Remus, get away from there! We don't need you like this, too!" Lily called, but I ignored her and sank my arms into the wall.

"Remus!"

"Wait! I think I have it!" I pulled my arm out with an old sheet of parchment in my hand.

"How come you don't have these things?" Sirius asked. He seemed zoned and out of it, though. Loss of blood had made him dizzy and I suspected he would lose consciousness soon. We had to get him to the Infirmary quickly.

"What's that?" asked Peter, seeing the paper I held.

"I'm not sure."

"You should put it back, Remus," warned Lily.

"No way! He was lucky those skin-termites didn't eat his arm. I doubt he'll be as lucky a second time," argued James.

"Fine, whatever," Lily rolled her eyes.

"Hey! Can we pay attention to Sirius here?! Thank you!" remarked Sirius. Lily scowled at him.

The room was filled with that crazed laughter once more. Lily stopped tending to Sirius to look madly about. Peter dropped to the ground whimpering. Sirius moaned and held his stomach as if he would throw up. James and I whipped out our wands, ready to defend.

Three clear forms appeared slowly before us. Three older, dark-haired boys in old Hogwarts uniforms.

"What happened to you?" the first boy asked with a smug grin on his face.

"Get outta here," Sirius growled at the ghost.

"Us?! You're the ones trespassin'."

"Leave us alone. We'll leave if that's what you want," I remarked.

"Oh that won't be necessary. We haven't had company for son long," he smirked. His two friends remained quiet where they were. "Company's always good…even the foolish kind," he added, laughing at Sirius's plight. Sirius balled his hands into fists and attempted to stand up, but fell right back down again. The ghosts laughed harder.

James scowled and sent a curse flying over their heads. They stopped their laughter. "Enough! You three get outta here now or I'll blast you to hell!" James shouted, creating an echo all around us. The ghosts stared at him in surprise and then smirked again, locking eyes with Lily.

"The force of the blue flame that hit her knocked her off her feet, but she never caught fire. James stopped what he was ding and rushed over to her side. She was still as a corpse.

The two ghosts cheered their leader on as he sent a few more fireballs toward us, but aware of what was happening, I repelled them. He stopped when one nearly went through him.

"I strongly suggest you keep your nose out of places it doesn't belong, Remus," he taunted me before the three left us alone again.

* * *

**A/N- We decided. We're going to see We Will Rock You. I am SOOOO excited, cos I am a HUGE Queen fan.**

**Plus my dad's friend is moving and I got her entire record collection. That means about thirty albums and one hundred singles. I'm slowly becoming a Beatles fan, too, somebody stop me….**

**I spent yesterday at my nana's house yesterday, too. We made Harry Potter robes. We're taking my cousin to the drive-in for her birthday and we're all gonna dress in Hogwarts uniforms and stuff.**

**Plus is getting a makeover I've noticed. A different way to log in, plus we can only have documents for a month before they're deleted. Damn it, I've got stuff YEARS old in documents. I'm gonna have to save that all to the compy now. I'm glad I noticed that before they got deleted. I would've lost over 20,000 words in writing, YIKES!**

**So this gives an idea, I'm way to stressed with stuff and the moment PLUS I still haven't finished writing this story. I'm starting chapter twelve and there are fourteen chapters in all. So next update in two weeks, so I can write, okay?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10  
October 24, 1976**

* * *

By the time we climbed out of the Slytherins' hideout, it was already early morning and both Sirius and Lily had lost consciousness. We ran straight to the Infirmary with them. I'll never know how we made it. We knocked desperately on the door: we needed Madame Pomfrey to wake up. When she did, we quickly apologized and showed her the limp Sirius and Lily. She quickly took them inside and had us set them on the beds. She shooed us from the room afterward while she treated them. We all walked back up to Gryffindor Tower and spent the rest of the night sitting quietly together in the Common Room. 

When the sun rose, we ran to the Infirmary as quickly as we had that previous night. Madame Pomfrey was less than pleased to see us again, but allowed us in to visit Sirius and Lily.

Sirius was lying down in bed, bandages wrapped all the way up both arms. He still seemed a tad groggy from all of the potions Madame Pomfrey must have given him, but aside from that, he looked much better.

"Hey Moony, I look like you!" he raised his arms for us to see. I rolled my eyes. James pulled out a chair and straddled it.

"How are you feeling, Padfoot?" he asked, a tone of urgency in his voice.

Sirius shrugged. "Oh well, you know."

"Oh…." His eyes wandered over Sirius's bed when he heard the news, over to Lily's bed. She laid on that bed looking cold and still. She was a pale, almost blue color. Dead to everything around her….

"How is she?" I lowered my voice to a whisper. Sirius warily eyed James before answering.

"They don't really know what's wrong with her."

"Well can't they find out or take her to St. Mungos?" Peter asked.

Sirius shook his head. "They won't take her there unless it's absolutely necessary." He looked to me for a change of subject. "What did that paper say, Lupin?"

I blinked in surprise. I had honestly forgotten all about the paper until he brought it up. I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the folded pieced of old, dried parchment. Peter, Sirius, and I stared curiously at it, wondering what it would tell us.

"Well?" Sirius questioned excitedly. I looked at it again before slowly unfolding it, expecting it to turn to dust in my hands.

It was just as old as we had first suspected. Dirt and small rocks fell out onto the clean Infirmary floor, something we were all sure Madame Pomfrey would be pleased about.

The paper was still covered in thick layer of grime, though. I brushed the remaining dirt off into a nearby rubbish bin. "Don't tear it," warned Sirius. I stood up when it was cleaned better: there was really no need for fear of tearing it. It was easy enough to spot that, even with all the grime that still stubbornly clung to it, that the paper was already torn and tattered in many places.

"Well show us!" Sirius called me back to his bed. I carefully handed him the paper and Peter and I each went to one of his sides. While we had been talking, James had stood and walked to Lily's bedside, where he sat. He looked gravely worried for her as he ran his hand gently through her bright orange hair, and we really didn't have the hearts to call him away.

"This is crap! What are we suppose to get from this?!" snapped Sirius.

"There must be something, Sirius, or it wouldn't have been hidden like that," I continued scanning, trying to catch sight of something.

"I don't see anything, Moony," Peter shook his head.

"I doubt this is gonna help much," Sirius rolled his eyes and looked away, bored with the seemingly fruitless task. Peter looked me in the face. Our eyes locked for a moment before we turned our concentration back on the paper.

When I squinted, I saw it. A word.

I nearly tore it out of Sirius's injured hand in excitement. "See? See? See?! There!" I pointed madly at the word.

"I see nothing, Moony," Sirius continued to shake his head in doubt.

"There's a word right there! P-something-E-S-E-maybe another P-V-E!"

Peter blinked and asked to see the word. Sirius handed him the paper and he studied it quietly. "No, your second P is an R. You can see the line thingy at the bottom," he handed the paper to me and I studied the letter.

"The trouble is that Ps and Ds and Rs look so much alike. For all we know, we've got the wrong letters,," I shook my head in frustration.

"Well," Sirius began, "why don't you two go and try to figure that out. Clean the paper better or something. I'm tired."

"What about James?" asked Peter.

"He's not bothering nobody," and with that, Sirius practically shooed us away. We locked ourselves in our dormitory and I found my wand.

"Ready?" I asked. Peter nodded.

I pointed my wand at the parchment. "Scourgify."

The filth was gone, but most of it was either faded or torn away.

"Preserving spell?"

"What would they perform a preserving spell for?" Peter asked. I shrugged.

* * *

**A/N- So a week early cos I apparently can't keep track of time. We Will Rock You in one week::runs around screaming at the top of my lungs until a wall jumps out at me:: NOW it is definitly gonna be two weeks** **cos I'm spending next Friday with the Canadians! Woot!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11  
October 29, 1976**

* * *

We shared our newfound knowledge with James and Sirius. Neither knew what it could have possibly meant, though. And without any help from Lily, I didn't know if we'd ever figure it out. 

Sirius was dismissed from the Hospital Wing on Thursday and thankfully spent the entire day in the library with us, a sacrifice I was very thankful for.

We found nothing.

I was on prefect duty alone on Friday because Lily was still in the Infirmary. She hadn't recovered from the attack. In fact, it only seemed she was becoming worse with each and every passing day. We were all worried sick for her.

I was supposed to patrol the third floor, but I couldn't get my mind away from my sick friend. I walked to the Hospital Wing, hoping maybe to sneak inside and see her or something. I'm not sure of exactly what I was thinking.

To my great surprisement, the lights in the room were on. I could see them underneath the door. I knew I should have left, especially after hearing hushed voices inside the room. But curiousity got the better of me and I hid inside a wardrobe outside the door to eavesdrop in, against my better nature.

James and Sirius really have had a bad affect on me.

I heard Dumbledore inside. He was speaking with Madame Pomfrey. I stayed as still as a statue and shut my eyes, blocking out all other distractions around me.

I was standing in the middle of the Infirmary. I heard Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey's hushed voice behind me. I turned around and saw them standing beside Lily's bedside. Dumbledore looked grave while Madame Pomfrey was almost in tears. I nervously walked toward them, feeling I was intruding in upon something private, but my curious feet carried closer to hear what they were saying. They didn't seem to notice my presence at all. It was almost as if I were invisible.

"Did you talk to anyone?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

Dumbledore nodded tiredly. "Yes. They'll be here shortly."

"I just don't know what I've done wrong!" Madame Pomfrey finally broke down, sat on a bed, and sobbed into her hands.

"Now, now, Poppy. You've tried your hardest. There's only so much you can do," he said comfortingly. He pulled a handkerchief from his robe pocket and handed it to her. She quietly thanked him.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" she asked, dabbing her eyes. Dumbledore sighed.

"I'm afraid we can't know. But something tells me she's not going anywhere without a fight."

I stumbled backward, not bothering to keep quiet or hide my heavy breathing. I shook my head in disbelief. "No…." was all that escaped from my mouth. Despite what I hadn't wanted to happen, despite what I had been trying to keep from happening, on of my best friends was dying before my eyes and there was absolutely nothing I or Madame Pomfrey or Dumbledore or anyone could do about it.

My eyes snapped open and everything around me was as black as night. I was falling through air and space with no net to catch me. Snking lower and lower, until the tide was to my eyes and I couldn't see or hear or breathe. I became dizzier by the second, so I gasped for breath. I could only taste the bitterness of salt, which I became puzzled from. Was I drowning in the ocean? I thought I was still at school. Was I sinking to the bottom of the Great Lake? Was the Giant Squid pulling me farther under? Or was it the merpeople?

Was I slowly losing my sanity? It seemed that was the case. I continued to sIt in the cupboard the same way, my chin resting on my keens as tears rolled down my cheeks. I was not being dragged to the bottom of the lake, but I was certain we had all hit rock bottom.

I pushed outward on the wardrobe door and crawled out, trying to stifle my sobs the best I could. I ran up to the fourth floor and hid myself in the library, in the Restricted Section. I couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. I wanted to be alone. I didn't want to deal with it.

And at that time, I couldn't. I couldn't admit that I was wrong in helping the girl. Because I had truly believed that was the right thing to do. But there was a time that I seriously doubted that the benefits of helping her would outweigh the risks. My worry and concern for my friends had once more returned, as did my doubt toward myself and frustration for Cecil.

I wondered if she really was who she said she was or if she was some dark ghost who enjoyed fooling and hurting the living. Was that because she was hurt? Or was she just like that?

I heard a rattle elsewhere, but I couldn't tell who had made it. I hid underneath a table and held my breath, waiting for Mrs. Norris to find me and drag me before the old caretaker.

Prefect or not, I was only a sixth year student and without permission to be in the Restricted Section. Only the seventh year students could do that.

I wanted James's Invisibility Cloak badly.

A floating lantern came around the corner into the Restricted Section, and I saw that no one was holding it. I crawled out from underneath the table, realizing who it was.

"James, you honestly had me terrified," I said. The lantern was set atop the table.

But James never took his cloak off. I was surprised when Cecil appeared before me.

"I'm sorry, Remus," she apologized softly.

How dare she! One of my best friends was dying and that was all she could say?! _I'm sorry_?!?

I hissed those words at her in disdain, in no way trying to guise the venom in my voice.

She sighed and shook her head. "I meant for frightening you. I didn't know about your friend."

"Oh?!" I blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered from it. "Well now you do! And do you want to know what else?! _My friends _are being hurt, not _me_! So would you please enlighten me as to what inevitable danger _I'm_ in?!?"

"They'll come back and get you! If you don't stop them soon, they'll do the same to you as they did to me!"

"They're ghosts. They can't cause me any harm," I pointed out the obvious.

She quickly shook her head. "No they're not. Not normal ghosts."

"What?! What are you talking about?!?"

"Shh! They knew the school would suspect them and so they preserved their souls," she whispered.

"What? I thought they were ghosts," I took the hint and dropped my voice.

"You have to die to become a ghost. They never died."

"So they're five hundred year old spirits?"

"Almost. In two days, it will be five hundred years since they performed the preserving spell. They'll come back again."

"So what can we do?"

Cecil looked to her left and her right before conjuring a thick, dragon hide bound book out of thin air. Its many pages turned and then stopped on one page. I leaned forward and read:

_Not into death let our spirits pass,  
__Nor hold our spirits on earth.  
__Hold them in the looking glass,  
__Hold them for rebirth. _

I looked up to her curiously, hoping she'd explain, but she had disappeared.

* * *

**A/N- So, interesting chapter I hope? If anyone's still reading...**

**WWRY was** **amazing! That's all I can say, really! I'd go and see it again in a heartbeat, honestly!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12  
October 30, 1976**

* * *

I ran back to our dormitory, book in hand. The Fat Lady crossly allowed me to enter Gryffindor Tower and I ran up the stairs, skipping one at a time. Finally, I felt as though we had the upper hand. 

The door slammed behind me as I flicked the lights on. "James! Sirius! Peter!"

There was a great deal of moans from all who had been asleep.

"Moony…." Groaned Sirius.

"What?" James was the first one to pull open his curtains. He hadn't fallen asleep at all; he was too worry-stricken over Lily to.

"Look, I turned on another light, causing more moaning and groaning, and set the book down on the floor. I opened the cover and flipped the heavy pages. "That one."

"The Reverse Preserving Spell," James read aloud, eyebrow raised.

"Cecil visited me again and gave me this book. The Slytherins preserved _their souls_ after they killed her and their five hundred years is drawing to an end. If we don't perform this, they'll come back…and get me," I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, realizing for the first time just how much danger _I _was in.

"How much time do we have?" James asked.

"Two days. Till the end of the 31st," I answered.

"Shit," he muttered and looked to Sirius's bed. He walked to it and drew open the curtains.

"Sirius, wake up."

Sirius moaned.

"Padfoot."

Sirius moaned again and turned over. James sighed and grabbed Sirius's wand off of his nightstand. Poised, he muttered a spell. A rush of water came from the wand tip and rained down on Sirius.

Sputtering and cursing, he leapt from his bed. I chuckled and James smirked.

"I'm glad you could join us," James interrupted Sirius's cussing.

"This had better be good!" he growled.

"Cecil visited me tonight and told me about the Slytherins. They performed a preserving spell on their souls so they could come back and kill more people like me."

Sirius blinked. "That's it?! I'm going back to bed."

"Get your ass down here," James laughed. Sirius rolled his eyes and jumped down from his bed.

"What about Peter?"

"I'll wake him up," I quickly spoke up before James could.

I drew his curtain and shook his shoulder. "Peter. Peter?" I sighed and reached into my robe pocket, pulling out a bar of chocolate. Ignoring Sirius's whining, I tore back the wrapping and waved it under Peter's nose. He slowly began sniffing and then opened his eyes.

"Thanks," he mumbled, accepting the bar of chocolate.

"You see?!? That's why I'm skin and bone! You only feed blubber boy! Feed me, too, Moony!" Sirius begged.

I only had one chocolate bar left and would have rather preferred to eat it myself.

"Chocolate's bad to dogs. It'll make you sick," I said.

"Let me be sick! Please?!"

The puppy-dog stare.

A tried and feared weapon Sirius used whenever he really wanted you to feel bad for him.

I had to resist!

I had to!

I threw him the bar of chocolate and he laughed manically.

"What about me? Don't I get chocolate?" James pouted.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't have anymore."

"Liar," James glared, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Ha! He just likes me better than you!" Sirius teased.

"Listen, seriously-" I began.

Sirius snorted.

"Seriously! They will come back and kill me if we don't do something to stop them!"

"Huh?" Peter questioned. I'd forgotten I hadn't explained it to him.

"Cecil visited me tonight and gave be a book. The Slytherins preserved their souls when they were suspected and will come back in two days if we don't perform the counter-spell."

Peter squinted skeptically at me. "How do you perform it?"

"It's a bit of a ritual, actually," I admitted. "At least two people are needed to perform it…and we'll need to perform it at the original site…."

"The Slytherins' hideout?! Now way!" Sirius complained, shivering at the memory of the maggots.

"Sirius, we _have to_! There's no way around it. Please?"

Sirius bit his lower lip and looked thoughtful.

"We need you, Sirius."

He smirked. "That's what I wanted to hear! I guess I'll help."

I glared. "You egotistical self-centered pig!"

He barked with laughter.

"I-If it's at the Slytherins' hideout, I doubt they'll be very pleased with us," Peter commented. "They'll probably throw fireballs at us again."

I nodded, seeing our predicament.

"We'll need to repel them _as well as_ perform a ritual we've never heard hide or tail of before?" James asked to make sure he understood completely. I nodded again. "Piece of cake," he laughed nervously.

"Oh come on! We're the Marauders! We can do anything we set our minds to and work at! We can beat three five hundred year old ghosts, right?! Come on!" Sirius acted as our cheerleader. We all smiled, feeling better and more confident.

"I've created a spell in Arithmancy. In the muggle movies and books, there is this thing known as a _force field_. It's essentially a shield: nothing can come in or get out…sort of a Patronus, but without dementors," I explained. "The ritual requires at least two wizards. Three of us could perform the actual ritual and the fourth would propel them off with my spell."

"That could work," James grinned, a mischievous glimmer returning to his eyes.

"Yeah, at least it would be possible," Sirius commented.

"We'll practice tomorrow?" I asked. They nodded.

* * *

**A/N- The last HP book is coming out tomorrow, as you all know, so I'm really excited about that. And for the note, if there is anything uncanon with the final book in this story, I'll fix it up, but right now it's canon with number 6.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**  
**October 31, 1976**

* * *

It was a Sunday, so we had the entire day to practice the ritual. And even though we had worked at it tirelessly, I had a horrible gut feeling about it.

We needed more time.

We weren't prepared enough. And, unfortunately, we knew it. Peter was having trouble remembering the verses, my incantation shield was still experimental, and, quite frankly, none of us wanted to return to the Slytherins' hideout. But we knew we had to.

I gripped the brass mirror tightly in my hand and hid it up my cloak. I sighed as I watched them practice one more time.

"No! It's _unbind these spirits this fulfill_, not _unbind these spirits will this fulfill_!" Sirius growled at Peter, who meekly shrunk away.

"Padfoot, just write it our and he can tae it to read from," I suggested. "We need to leave soon."

"That's not the point! Can't you remember anything?"

"Not with you screaming at him," I mumbled.

"Hey! We need to work together as a team or this is really just a waste or time," James interrupted our argument. I nodded in agreement, he was right. And so did Peter. Sirius, however, wasn't as quick to admit defeat.

"Doesn't he realize how important this is?!? This isn't remembering the five ways to spot a werewolf. This is Remmy's life or death!" argued Sirius.

"Thanks, Sirius," I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

"I'm sure he knows how important it is, Sirius! Now just drop it, write down the damn verses, and lets go!" James glared. He stopped then and opened his trunk, pulling out a heavier cloak for the cold outside.

Peter and I got up and did the same. Sirius remained sitting cross-armed on the floor. I rolled my eyes and scribbled down the verses:

_Release these spirits from their still,  
__In the glass no longer remain.  
__Unbind these spirits this fulfill,  
__Death no longer feign. _

I handed the scrap of parchment to Peter and he stuffed it into his pocket.

"Come on, Sirius," James called. He slowly stood up and walked to our sides, less than pleased. We chose to ignore his attitude, though, and pressed onward.

It was eleven o'clock when we left, far past curfew. Peter transformed into a rat and he four of us hid underneath James's Invisibility Cloak. We slipped through the castle, only stopping once when Filch limped past us.

And thank god Mrs. Norris wasn't with him.

We pushed open the grand Entrance Hall doors and walked out onto the grounds. The cold air met us, and was quick to greet us and make itself our guest. But we also encountered a blanket of fog laid out on the cold earth, as if to keep it warm. And was so think the material of this giant sheet that we quickly discarded of the Invisibility Cloak, seeing as no one would possible spy us in the mist.

We lit the tips of our wands and ran into the Forbidden Forest, to the clearing. We looked around us, trying to spot the tree through the fog. Sirius found it shortly after and the four of us climbed down the ladder inside.

The dirt wall was no longer glowing, but the poem on the side of the wooden wall seemed to be. Peter gulped and looked up at me, waiting for me to tell him what to do.

I nodded and knelt down on the floor. I opened the book and searched for the right page.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind me. I stopped what I was doing and slowly looked over my shoulder with dread.

It was the three ghosts.

I stared at them, mentally gripping my wand underneath my cloak, waiting to make my move.

"We can't let you do that," he smirked. I did nothing, only watched them.

Suddenly, he sent a huge blue ball of fire soaring at my head, but I quickly whipped out my ready wand and repelled it away.

"Get behind me!" I ordered. James, Sirius, and Peter obeyed without question.

"Enough! Lets end this!" the lead ghost screamed, finished playing around. Three fireballs came at us with the heat of a thousand hells, larger than any of the others before. They were going to kill us all at once.

I gulped and shut my eyes. I gripped two hands on my poised want and shouted the incantation, praying it would work.

I opened my eyes. We were in a transparent blue bubble that shielded us from all curses sent at us.

The Slytherins were furious and threw the hardest and largest fireballs yet, trying to break through our shield. I bit my bottom lip nervously.

"Grab the mirror out of my pocket! Quickly!" Sirius pulled the mirror out of my cloak pocked and the three knelt down on the ground. James flipped through the last few pages of the book.

They all gripped the mirror as I gripped my wand tighter. I didn't know how much longer the spell would last. "Hurry!"

They nodded and chanted:

_Release these spirits from their still,  
__In the glass no longer remain.  
__Unbind these spirits this fulfill,  
__Death no longer feign. _

Nothing.

"Concentrate more!" I exclaimed. The shield was beginning to die away,

_Release these spirits from their still,  
__In the glass no longer remain.  
__Unbind these spirits this fulfill,  
__Death no longer feign. _

"Peter, stop looking at the paper! Concentrate only on the words!" James said. They all shut their eyes and gripped the mirror tighter.

_Release these spirits from their still,  
__In the glass no longer remain.  
__Unbind these spirits this fulfill,  
__Death no longer feign. _

The room was filled with a bright, almost blinding light. I found myself squinting against it, it was so bright! The Slytherins stopped attacking us as they, too, were blinded.

The shield died away and we were once more vulnerable to their abuses. But when it did, the light better hit the mirror and reflected off in all directions! It hit the Slytherins' and it seemed to be too much for them!

After screaming torture, their forms burned away before our very eyes, until absolutely nothing was left!

And as soon as it had begun, it was over and we were surrounded once more with silence and darkness.

James, Sirius, and Peter stood up and we looked at each other, wondering if it was all truly over.

"Look!" Peter pointed behind me. I spun around once more, wand at the ready. But the Slytherins weren't there. Peter had been pointing at the poem on the wall, which was slowly disappearing away to nothing.

The Slytherins were truly gone and with them the threats against my life. I sighed in relief.

"Lets go," I said. They all nodded in agreement and followed me up the ladder. We climbed out of the hole in the tree and stood above the clearing, looking down at the spot Cecil Marie Reid had been murdered at five hundred years before.

We walked back up to the castle. We had had enough of the Forbidden Forest to last us a while.

We stopped again at the edge of the forest and watched as the giant cloak on the side of the castle turned to twelve. Midnight.

Sirius laughed.

"Are you barking mad?! What's wrong with you?!" James asked.

"I can't believe we were _that _close! Oh my god…."

"Remus?" a small voice from behind us called my name. We all turned around and saw Cecil. "Thank you."

I gave a small smile. "You're welcome."

She approached us and, if I wasn't imagining things by this point, was not a transparent ghost at all. She appeared to be a normal, eleven year old girl.

She grinned and slipped her hand into my own. I almost felt it. But as soon as she held my hand, she let go of it again and skipped away onto the grounds, giggling to herself. And she slowly faded away completely, left only in our memories.

It was Sirius who broke the spell. "Weird…."

We all laughed at him and raced back to the castle.

* * *

**A/N- So that's basically the end of the story. There's one chappie left and then it's all over. I'll update next Friday and then I'll go back over it with a fine comb and pick out anything that doesn't make sense with DH. Thanks for reading! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14  
****November 1, 1976**

* * *

We slipped inside the castle but froze instantly, for a very cross looking McGonagall was waiting for us. 

She took us to her office where she began chastising us for being out so late in the Forbidden Forest. Peter was a nervous wreck and James and Sirius were on the verge of being so, but I tried to remain as calm as possible.

"It was stupid! You could have gotten yourselves killed! What were you thinking?!"

"It's a long story, professor-" Sirius began.

"Oh not this again, Mr. Black!" she rolled her eyes.

"Let me explain, professor," I explained the whole story to her. The dreams and the visits, the other times we snuck out of the castle. Lily. The Slytherins. Cecil. Everything. She never interrupted either, but patiently listened to everything we had done in the last two months.

When I was finished, she began speaking again. "Why didn't you come to me or one of the other professors with this, Mr. Lupin?"

Why hadn't I?! "You all have enough things to worry about without this," I lied, shrugging.

She shook her head and was about to speak again, but never did. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I followed it up and saw a grand set of red robes. My eyes locked with the piercing blue of Dumbledore's.

"Sir, I can explain," I began, but he hushed me.

"May I speak with these students alone?" he asked. McGonagall obviously didn't want to leave, but obeyed the old Headmaster, shutting her office door behind her.

"You are aware that tonight alone, you have broken four major school rules," he walked before us and sat behind McGonagall's desk. "And maybe ten more on other multiple occasions in the past month alone," we all nodded, waiting for the hammer to fall.

To our great amazement, however, Dumbledore began chuckling. "I doubt there are very many students that would be able to accomplish what you have done tonight. You have solved an age-old mystery that can now be laid to rest. You should be proud."

"Wait! You knew what we were doing the _whole time_?!" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore nodded.

"Well couldn't you have helped?! We were nearly killed!" exclaimed Sirius.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I'm far too old for those adventures anymore. And besides, I figured you'd be more than capable to figure it out yourselves. You have to fight your own monsters."

I nodded, remembering him telling me just that years before.

"And speaking of which!" Dumbledore became cheerful once more as he conjured another large book out of thin air. He set it out before him and invited us to stand behind him to see it.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked. We all shook our heads. "This is a record of every student who has ever attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Am I in there?!" Sirius asked, suddenly excited.

"Yes," Dumbledore flicked his wand above the book and the pages turned and turned and then stopped on a page in the middle. With a long, thin finger, Dumbledore pointed to an entry, written in tall, thin letters. We read:

**Name: **_Cecil Marie Reid  
_**Date of Birth: **_18 April 1465  
_**Date of Death: **_31 October 1976  
_**House: **_Hufflepuff  
_**Blood Status: **_Pureblood  
_**Other Notes: **_Werewolf _

"What about ours', Sir?" Sirius asked. Dumbledore waved his wand again and the book turned to its last pages.

"It never runs out of room. There's always room for anyone." He pointed to Sirius's record.

**Name: **_Sirius Orion Black  
_**Date of Birth: **_5 September 1959  
_**Date of Death: -  
****House: **_Gryffindor  
_**Blood Status: **_Pureblood  
_**Other Notes: - **

"Here is Remus," he pointed to mine.

**Name: **_Remus John Lupin  
_**Date of Birth: **_10 March 1960  
_**Date of Death: -  
****House: **_Gryffindor  
_**Blood Status: **_Half-blood  
_**Other Notes: **_Werewolf _

"And Peter and James."

**Name: **_Peter__ Leonard Pettigrew  
_**Date of Birth: **_17 February 1960  
_**Date of Death: -  
****House: **_Gryffindor  
_**Blood Status: **_Pureblood  
_**Other Notes: - **

**Name: **_James Atticus Potter  
_**Date of Birth: **_27 March 1960  
_**Date of Death: -  
****House: **_Gryffindor  
_**Blood Status: **_Pureblood  
_**Other Notes: - **

"Who were the Slytherins who killed her?" I asked. Dumbledore grinned.

"I'm glad you asked," one more time, the pages flipped and stopped. Dumbledore pointed to the name.

**Name: **_William Cyrus Tilbury  
_**Date of Birth: **_11 November 1959  
_**Date of Death: **_31 October 1976  
_**House: **_Slytherin  
_**Blood Status: **_Pureblood  
_**Other Notes: **_Werewolf _

"Wait! He was a werewolf, too!" Peter exclaimed.

"Why would he want to kill other werewolves then?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Everyone deals with their problems differently, some better than others…but then I'm not here to judge."

He stood up to leave as we all still pored over the book in shock.

"Oh, and by the way," he stopped in the doorway and turned around to face us. We looked at him. "I believe there is someone who would like to see you."

We all looked curiously at each other while Dumbledore left, clearing the doorway to reveal a grinning, healthy Lily Evans standing in it as well.

James ran to her in a flash, wanting to sweep her off of her feet and tell her how worried he was. But he stooped abruptly and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hey…."

"Hello, James," she grinned at him and then looked over his shoulder and greeted the rest of us. She then returned her attention to James. "Listen, they told me how you raced me to Madame Pomfrey and tried to save me."

"Uh…." James mumbled unsurely.

Lily took in a deep breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're not a complete ass and maybe we can start again."

Sirius barked with laughter. "Oh my god, Evans just said ass! We've had more of an influence on you that we thought, huh?"

I rolled my eyes and Lily glared at him.

"Just get rid of him, okay?" she joked.

"No problem!" James laughed.

"Hey!" Sirius shouted indignantly, putting on a face of mock-offended.

"So," Lily walked past James to me, "what did I miss?"

I grinned. "Sit down, it's a long story."

* * *

**A/N- Indeed it is, Remmy! Good thing he told it and not me, otherwise it would never be over! Hope everyone enjoyed!**


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